Hydraulic line connector

ABSTRACT

A method of fastening a male member of a hydraulic line connector to a female member of the hydraulic line connector. The a female member has a cylindrical wall portion defining a bore having a frusto-conical surface, and an opposing pair of slits. A spring clip is provided that has a first leg featuring a first arcuate portion, a second leg featuring a second arcuate portion, and a closed end portion removably positioned between and attached to the first and second legs. The male member has a shoulder, a reduced portion, and a frusto-conical surface that tapers inward from the shoulder. The male member can be positioned in the bore of the female member so that the shoulder is engaged by the first and second arcuate portions of the first and second legs of the spring clip.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a divisional of U.S. Non-provisional application12/924,194, filed Sep. 22, 2010, and claims priority from U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/245,520, filed Sep. 24, 2009,the entirety of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to hydraulic components andsystems and, more particularly, to a connector for hydraulic lines usedto connect the master and slave assemblies of a motor vehicle clutchsystem.

BACKGROUND

A typical motor vehicle hydraulic clutch system, of the type used onautomobiles, trucks and buses, is indicated in general at 10 in FIG. 1.As is known in the art, the system includes a slave cylinder 12, amaster cylinder 14 and a hydraulic line 16 connecting the two hydrauliccomponents. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the slave cylinder 12 is typicallymounted within the clutch bell housing 18. As is known in the art, theclutch bell housing 18 is typically mounted between the vehicle motorand gearbox and the slave cylinder surrounds the vehicle driveshaft.

The master cylinder 14 contains a supply of hydraulic fluid, which maybe replenished through port 20. A rod 22 is connected to a piston (notshown) positioned within the master cylinder. The rod 22 also features alinkage 24 that is pivotally connected to a clutch pedal (not shown)that is located within the vehicle driver's compartment. When thevehicle clutch pedal is depressed, hydraulic fluid is driven from themaster cylinder 14, due to movement of the internal piston, throughhydraulic line 16 to slave cylinder 12. The slave cylinder 12, uponreceipt of the hydraulic fluid, releases the clutch to permit the driverto manipulate the vehicle gearbox so as to change gears.

It is often necessary to disconnect the hydraulic line 16 from eitherthe master cylinder 14 or slave cylinder 12 when the clutch systemrequires servicing or when either component needs to be repaired orreplaced. As a result, the hydraulic line 16 is provided with connectorsat each end.

An example of a prior art connector may be found in U.S. Pat. No.4,991,627 to Nix. The Nix '627 patent illustrates a connector featuringa male member and a female member. The male member features an annularshoulder. The female member of the connector features a bore sized toreceive the male member. A retainer clip, which is formed from a tube orring of thin spring steel is positioned within the bore of the femalemember. The retainer clip is slit to form a number of inwardly-extendingfingers which engage the shoulder of the male member when it is insertedinto the female member. This secures the male and female connectormembers together.

While the design of the Nix '627 patent facilitates attachment of themale and female members of the connector together, disconnecting the twomembers, and thus removal of the hydraulic line from either the masteror slave cylinders, is somewhat cumbersome. In addition, a special toolis required to disconnect the male and female members of the connectorof the Nix '657 patent. A connector that facilitates both connecting anddisconnecting the male and female members is desirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a hydraulic clutch systemequipped with hydraulic line connectors constructed in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views of the connector of the presentinvention with the male and female members and the spring clipdisengaged and engaged, respectively;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the spring clip of FIGS. 2A and 2B;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the connector of FIG. 2B taken along line4-4 and rotated counterclockwise 90°.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, hydraulic line 16 features connectors,indicated in general at 28 and 30, positioned on opposite ends.Connector 28 features a male member 32 that has been inserted into, andis secured within, female member 34. Connector 30 similarly featuresmale member 36 and female member 38 that are likewise secured together.As will be explained in greater detail below, either connector 28 or 30may be quickly released so that hydraulic line 16 may be quickly andeasily removed from hydraulic components such as slave cylinder 12 ormaster cylinder 14 for service or replacement of either component, orservice or replacement of line 16 itself.

An enlarged, exploded view of connector 30 and a portion of hydraulicline 16 are presented in FIG. 2A. While connector 30 and its componentsare discussed in greater detail below, it is to be understood thatconnector 28 features a similar construction, components and operation.

As noted previously, and illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the connector30 includes a male member, indicated in general at 36, and a femalemember, indicated in general at 38. The female member 38 is removablysecured to the system slave cylinder (12 in FIG. 1), via attachmentportion 42 (FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B). The male member 36 is attached tohydraulic line 16 (see also FIG. 1). Male and female members 36 and 38are preferably primarily constructed from metal, or any other materialthat can withstand hydraulic fluids. As is known in the art, hydraulicline 16 may be constructed from rubber or a variety of other flexiblematerials capable of handling the internal pressure generated by thesystem master cylinder.

With reference to FIG. 2A, male member 36 includes a sliding surface 40bordered on one edge by circumferential flange 41. A sliding sleeve 44is preferably constructed from plastic and features a circumferentialcollar 46 formed on a trailing edge of the sleeve. A shoulder 48 isformed on the male member and borders the end of the sliding surface 40opposite flange 41. The sleeve 44 may engage the shoulder 48, asillustrated in FIG. 2A, or the circumferential collar 46 when the malemember is not inserted in the female member.

Male member 36 also features a reduced portion, illustrated at 50 inFIG. 2A, upon which is positioned an O-ring 52. O-ring 52 is preferablyformed of a rubber or plastic material, or other materials known in theart. The surface of the male member tapers inward from the shoulder 48so that a frusto-conical surface 53 exists between the shoulder 48 andreduced portion 50. Reduced portion 50 terminates in nose 54. The malemember features a passage, illustrated in phantom at 55 in FIG. 2A (andin cross section in FIG. 4), that communicates with hydraulic line 16.With reference to FIG. 2A, passage 55 terminates in an opening in nose54 that is provided with a cylindrical stopper, illustrated in phantomat 57, that is urged into the closed position illustrated in FIG. 2A bya coil compression spring, illustrated in phantom at 58. Additionaldetails regarding the cylindrical stopper and the coil compressionspring may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,627 to Nix, the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

With reference to FIG. 2A, female member 38 features a cylindrical wall60 which encloses and defines a bore 62. A pair of opposing slits 64 aand 64 b are formed through the cylindrical wall 60. An attachmentportion passage, illustrated in phantom at 63, is formed throughattachment portion 42 and communicates with a body passage, illustratedin phantom at 65, formed within a body portion 67 of the female member.With reference to FIG. 2A, the female member bore 62 also features aninwardly-tapered portion, illustrated in phantom at 69, so that afrusto-conical surface is formed that is sized to engage the O-ring 52of the male member when the male member is inserted into the femalemember in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2B. Additional informationregarding the frusto-conical surface 69 and functionality with regard tothe O-ring 52 may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,627 to Nix. An openingis formed between the bore 62 and the body passage 65 of the femalemember. An enlarged head, indicated in phantom at 71, is centrallypositioned within the opening in a fixed fashion by a rod, illustratedin phantom at 68. The end of rod 68 opposite the end featuring enlargedhead 71 is secured to the body portion 67 of the female member,preferably by a perforated disk positioned, and circumferentiallyattached, within the body passage 65 (as shown in U.S. Pat. No.4,991,627 to Nix). The enlarged head is surrounded by an annularabutment surface, illustrated in phantom at 73. The annular abutmentsurface is urged into the closed position illustrated in FIG. 2A by acompression coil spring, illustrated in phantom at 75. Additionaldetails regarding the enlarged head, rod, annular abutment surface andcompression coil spring may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,627 to Nix.

A spring clip, indicated in general at 70 in FIGS. 2A and 3, features aclosed end portion 72 and legs 74 a and 74 b. Each leg is provided witharcuate portions 76 a and 76 b. The legs 74 a and 74 b of the springclip are inserted into slots 64 a and 64 b of the female member prior toinsertion of the male member 36 into the female member 38 as describedbelow.

As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the male member 36 is inserted into thefemale member 38 of the connector to connect the hydraulic line 16 tothe slave cylinder 12 (FIG. 1). During insertion, the sliding sleeve 44of the male member engages the interior surface of the cylindrical wall60 of the female member (which defines bore 62) so that the slidingsleeve collar 46 moves towards, and contacts, flange 41, as illustratedin FIG. 2B. With reference to FIGS. 2A and 4, this exposes a portion ofthe sliding surface 40 of the male member adjacent to shoulder 48. Thecircumferential flange 41 forces the sliding sleeve to wedge between themale member sliding surface 40 and the interior surface of cylindricalwall 60. The exposed portion of the male member sliding surface isaligned with the opposing slits 64 a and 64 b of the female member whenthe male member is inserted therein. In addition, the frusto-conicalsurface 53 (FIG. 2A) of the male member forces the spring clip legs 74 aand 74 b slightly apart as the male member is inserted. As a result, asillustrated in FIGS. 2B and 4, the arcuate portions 76 a and 76 b of thespring clip engage the exposed portion of male member sliding surface 40when the male member is fully inserted into the female member. Thearcuate portions of the spring clip also abut and engage the shoulder 48(FIGS. 2A and 2B) of the male member so that it is locked within thefemale member. With reference to FIG. 2B, a gap 79 is formed between theclosed end portion 72 of the clip and the exterior surface of thecylindrical wall 60 of the female member. The purpose of this gap is forremoval of the clip, as explained below.

When the male member is inserted into the female member as illustratedin FIG. 2B, the enlarged head (71 in FIG. 2A) of the female memberengages the cylindrical stopper (57 of FIG. 2A) and pushes thecylindrical stopper inward against the urging of coil spring 58 (FIG.2A). In addition, the nose 54 (FIG. 2A) of the male member pushes theannular abutment surface (73 of FIG. 2A) inward against the urging ofcoil spring 75 (FIG. 2A). As a result, and with reference to FIG. 2A,passage 55 of the male member is placed in fluid communication withpassages 63 and 65 of the female member. Additional details regardingthis functionality may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,627 to Nix.

As is best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the end portion 72 and legs 74a and 74 b of the spring clip 70 preferably feature a rectangularcross-section. As a result, the interior and exterior surfaces and sidesof the spring clip are generally flat which optimizes engagement of thespring clip with the shoulder 48 (FIGS. 2A and 2B) of the male memberand the opposing slits of the female member. In addition, such aconstruction permits the spring clip to be simply manufactured fromstrips of spring steel that are cut and formed into the appropriateshape. It should be understood, however, that spring clips havingalternative profiles may be used, especially if a corresponding grooveis present in the male member.

When it is desired to separate the male and female members, a tool suchas an appropriately-sized flat blade screw driver or pliers may be usedto remove spring clip 70 from the slots of the female member, and thusout of engagement with the surface portion 40 and the shoulder 48 malemember 36. If a screw driver is used, it may be inserted into the gap 79(FIG. 2B) between the closed end of the clip 72 and the female member.Alternatively, the gap 79 facilitates gripping of the closed end 72 ofthe clip with a pair of pliers or other tool. Once the spring clip isremoved, the male member may be easily removed from the bore of thefemale member.

The present invention therefore offers a connector that permits ease ofjoining and securing the male and female members together. A reliableconnection system that meets the applicable Society of AutomotiveEngineers (SAE) test standards is also provided. In addition, the maleand female members may be easily separated once the connector springclip is removed using standard tools, such as a screwdriver or pliers.No special tools are required.

Another advantage of the connector of the present invention is that themale member from an existing connector may be used, and only the femalemember of the existing connector replaced with the female member of theconnector of the invention. As a result, older hydraulic clutch systemsmay be easily retrofitted with the connector of the present invention.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made therein without departing from the spiritof the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of fastening a male member of ahydraulic line connector to a female member of the hydraulic lineconnector comprising the steps of: a) providing a female member having acylindrical wall portion defining a bore having a frusto-conicalsurface, and an opposing pair of slits; b) providing a spring cliphaving a first leg featuring a first arcuate portion, a second legfeaturing a second arcuate portion, and a closed end portion positionedbetween and attached to the first and second legs; c) removablypositioning the first and second legs of the spring clip one each in theopposing pair of slits of the female member; d) providing a male memberhaving a shoulder, a reduced portion, and a frusto-conical surface thattapers inward from the shoulder; and e) positioning the male member inthe bore of the female member so that the shoulder is engaged by thefirst and second arcuate portions of the first and second legs of thespring clip.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the spring clip includes arectangular cross section.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the shoulderof the male member is an annular shoulder.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein a gap is formed between an exterior surface of the cylindricalwall and the closed end portion of the spring clip when the male memberis removably received within said bore of the female member and thespring clip is removably received within the opposing slits of thecylindrical wall of the female member and further comprising the stepsof: f) engaging the closed end portion of the spring clip with a tool;and g) removing the first and second legs of the spring clip fromengagement with the opposing slits of the female member with the tool;and h) removing the male member from the bore of the female member. 5.The method of claim 1 wherein the male member includes a sliding surfacebordered on one edge by circumferential flange, and the shoulder bordersan end of the sliding surface opposite flange.
 6. The method of claim 5wherein the male member includes a sliding sleeve having acircumferential collar formed on a trailing edge of the sleeve.
 7. Themethod of claim 6 further comprising: engaging an interior surface ofthe cylindrical wall of the female member with the sliding sleeve of themale member so that circumferential collar of the sliding sleeve movestowards and contacts the circumferential flange.
 8. The method of claim1 further comprising: forcing the first and second legs of the springclip apart with the frusto-conical surface of the male member.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: forming a gap between an exteriorsurface of the cylindrical wall and the closed end portion of the springclip when the male member is removably received within said bore of thefemale member and the spring clip is removably received within theopposing slits of the cylindrical wall of the female member.